The Avatar Returns: Water
by Pylilo
Summary: A peasant becomes a waterbender, her brother falls in love, an exiled prince searches for his honor, and a young airbender learns of his destiny. Novelization of Book One.


**A/N:** This is a novelization of our favorite TV Show: A:TLA!! I'm separating it by day, and by character. The character I choose depends mostly on the scenes involved. I want to get the most out of every scene. The first three days (episodes 101 and 102) roughly follow the script, but I am planning on making it more of my own thing from then on. R+R

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

* * *

Book 1: The Avatar Returns (Water)

Day 1

The Boy in the Iceberg

Katara

My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days; a time of peace; when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop the ruthless firebenders, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed, and the fire nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving my brother and I to look after our tribe.

Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world.

I have my theories. Sokka always makes fun of them, though. The weirdest one so far has involved the Avatar being a watermelon lord. Sokka must have cooked over-ripe prunes that night.

We've been doing a lot on our own. Sokka doesn't cook as often as I do, but that's for our health. When dad and the others first left, we didn't know what to do. It was a very cold winter; the elders and children all caught terrible colds, and Sokka and I needed to find and prepare food for all of them. It was a great experience for us though. It threw us right into reality. The world is at war. Our tribe depends on us, and we can't fail them. I wouldn't wish away my suffering if it meant that I'd lose everything I've learned from it.

Over the past two years, I feel that I've really matured. I wouldn't say that I'm an adult, but I've left childhood far behind. It's unfortunate that some people only grow up if disaster strikes. I hope one day, children will mature naturally, without any catalysts ruining the fun of being a kid.

In my brother's case, not even the threat of a Fire Nation attack can force maturity. He always acts so tough, but I'm the one doing all of the real work. It's not easy to clean all of our clothes. I gave up on removing the smell from his. It's embedded so deep within them, that no amount of soap or oil or perfume will overpower it. It's a bizarre mixture of smoke, sweat, and seal blubber, and I can't understand why the scent doesn't bother him as much as it does me. He probably thinks it's _masculine_.

"It's not getting away from me this time," he assures me from the top of our canoe. Spear slung over his shoulder, he stares into the water at a shadow. He turns his head slightly to say, "Watch and learn Katara, this is how you catch a fish." He grins, looking back down at his prey. I would feel bad for the little fish if my brother actually stood a chance at catching it. I just hope he doesn't fall in and freeze on the way back.

On my side of the boat, I see a quick shadow dance at the corner of my eye, and turn around to see another fish swimming near me. I slip off my glove and raise a bare hand over the icy water. I take a deep breath, and focus on the water around the shadow. The pull is a little foreign at first, but I soon grow accustomed to the ebb of bending. I raise my hand and-

"Sokka! Look!" I exclaim. Following the movement of my hands is a bubble of water, and inside, the fish. He whispers irritably, but I can't focus on his protests. "But Sokka, I caught one!"

I stream the water over my brother's head. He lifts his spear up, and my connection with the water breaks. "Hey!" the water crashes on his head, and he gasps. He turns around, dripping water from his face and hair.

"Why is it that every time you play with magic water, I get soaked?" his fists clench and wring out the water from them.

"It's not magic, it's waterbending," I sigh, "and it's-"

"Yeah, yeah, it's an ancient art unique to our culture, blah blah blah… Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

"_You're_ calling _me_ weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water," I smirk at him, flexing his bicep with a grin he probably finds 'sexy'.

A sudden jolt shakes our small canoe, and interrupts us. A current grabs our boat and propels us through a field of ice. Two large chunks crash behind us, and all sides of our tiny vessel are pummeled. Sokka paddles with his spear, to no avail. We get stuck for only a second before the current pushes us further away.

"Watch out!" I yell. The ice chunks ahead are even bigger. "Go left, go left!" I command, but soon our canoe is crushed between two boulder-sized icebergs, and the boat is reduced to splinters. My naked hand gets scraped up as I try to stop myself falling into the water. I nearly slip off, but manage to scramble back up and sit near my brother.

"You call that left?" I ask sarcastically.

"You don't like my steering? Well, maybe you should've waterbended us out of the ice," he makes hand gestures that he thinks are waterbending moves. I shove the thought that he knows about as much as I do about waterbending to the back of my head.

"So it's my fault?" I ask.

"I knew I should've left you home. Leave it to a girl to screw things up," he says.

I feel my face grow red. I hope he knows he shouldn't have said that. My fists clench. "You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained-" the list goes on, "I'm embarrassed to be related to you!" I throw my hands up in frustration. "Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp, while you've been off playing soldier!" He looks afraid and whimpers: proof that he's finally understanding my predicament. "I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you: NOT PLEASANT!"

"Katara, settle down!" he shrieks. He's really making this too easy.

"No! That's it; I'm done helping you. From now on, you're ON YOUR OWN!" I punch the air in front of me, and hear a deafening crack behind me. I turn to see what Sokka has really been afraid of: a glacier splitting in two. It crumbles, sending up a massive wave that nearly capsizes our ice raft.

When the water finally settles down, Sokka says, "Ok, you've gone from weird to freakish, Katara!"

"You mean, _I_ did that?" I can barely make a wave normally. I know so little waterbending.

"Yep, congratulations," He mutters. I try to come up with some retort, but we both stop arguing at the sudden appearance beneath us. A light flashes on in the water just in front of our noses. It spreads into a ring, and gets bigger and brighter. A chill that has little to do with the Antarctic climate rushes through my spine. The water lifts, and an iceberg bursts onto the surface.

The light is frightening, but strangely beautiful. By no conscious order, my body moves towards it. My eyes grow accustomed to it, and inside I can see shadows under the ice. One looks like a child, but arrows are glowing on its head and hands. A pair of glowing eyes open and gaze into mine.

"He's alive!" I gasp, and grab Sokka's club, "We have to help!" I can't imagine anyone being frozen. I've fallen under before, but I've never been trapped inside of an iceberg.

"Katara! Get back here! We don't know what that thing is!" I ignore my brother and jump over a few ice blocks, landing on the large glowing one and rushing to the edge of what appears to be a giant circular cage. I whack the wall, but only leave a miniscule dent. The walls must be feet thick. I keep striking. That child could die at any minute. I wind up further this time, and strike the small hole I've managed to make.

It bursts open with an earsplitting crack, and a ray of light erupts into the atmosphere. Sokka pulls me away from the shell that remains from the iceberg. The light spirals around, and the dust settles over the ocean. The child crawls up to the top of the wall. "Stop!" Sokka orders, but the boy is deaf to him. The light thins and disperses, and slowly fades off of the boy's hands and bald forehead. Once they return to normal color, he staggers a bit.

I run past Sokka and catch the child as he slides down the wall. He's still alive, but his skin is freezing. Sokka hits the boy in the temple with the butt of his spear. "Stop it!" I yell. I lay the boy down against the wall to keep him propped up, and turn him to face me. It's silent for a moment, but then he stirs and opens his eyes. He gasps as he sees me, and my mouth falls open. The pained expression does not fit his cherubic face.

"I need to ask you something." His voice is tired, as if he just woke up from an unpleasant nap.

"What?"

"Please, come closer."

"What is it?"

His face snaps into a smile, "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

"Uh… sure. I guess." He hops up and floats back onto the ground. Sokka jumps back in surprise.

"What's going on here?" the boy wonders aloud.

"You tell us!" Sokka demands, "How'd you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?" He jabs the point into the child's stomach, but the kid waves him away.

"I'm not sure." A groan sounds from behind the wall, and the boy climbs back up excitedly. Sokka and I walk around the wall. "Appa, are you alright? Wake up buddy!" his voice echoes over the wall to us. Who's Appa? When we get around the wall, the young boy is struggling with a… creature, presumably Appa. The thing's tongue reaches out and lifts the boy off the ground. He giggles, "You're ok!" and hugs its nose.

"What is that thing?" Sokka asks.

"This is Appa, my flying bison."

"Right," Sokka drags the word out sarcastically, "and this is Katara, my flying sister."

Appa's nostrils ripple and his broad nose lifts up. The air around us gets sucked in to him, and then he lets out a massive sneeze. Sokka protects me from the slimy bison mucus, getting covered from head to toe in it. "Uaggh!" he cries, rubbing his left side into the snow.

"Don't worry, it'll wash out," the child comforts him. I doubt Sokka feels any better though. "So," he continues, "do you guys live around here?"

"Don't answer that!" Sokka says, "Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy, you can tell by that evil look in his eye," I say, matching my brother's tone. The boy's newly formed adult teeth turn into a grin. "The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name."

"I'm Aa-a-a-aachooo!" He lifts off the ground, and comes hurtling back down, sliding to a stop in front of us. "I'm Aang," he sniffles.

"You just sneezed! And flew ten feet in the air!" Sokka shrieks.

"Really?" Aang asked, doubtful, "It felt higher than that." Realization dawns on me.

"You're an airbender!" I gasp.

"Sure am!"

"Giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders, I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness" Sokka walks to the edge of the iceberg, "I'm going home to where stuff makes sense."

"Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift," Aang suggests. He twirls in the air and landed on Appa's head. Another twirl and he's on the saddle.

"We'd love a ride!" Half of me wanted to get home, but a more dominant half just wanted to ride on the bison. "Thanks!" Aang pulls me up and helps me into the saddle.

"Oh no, I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster!" Sokka complains.

"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know, before you freeze to death?" He raises a finger, searching for a rebuttal, but finding none, he grudgingly joins me on the saddle.

"Ok!" Aang calls back to us from Appa's head, "First time fliers: hold on tight. Appa, yip yip!" he cracks the reigns. Appa groans, lifts his tail in the air, and blasts off of the ground. For a second, I feel dizzy, but that soon ends, and Appa dives into the sea. "Come on, Appa, yip yip!" Aang encourages his pet.

"Wow. That was truly amazing," Sokka drawls, clearly attempting to sabotage my excitement.

"Appa's just tired!" Aang assures us from the cockpit, "A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky." His eyes fall on me and he smiles. His eyes are so bright, clear green, almost gray.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" I ask. He looks like he's coming out of a dream.

"Oh, I was smiling?" he asks innocently. I smile back. Sokka groans behind me, continuing to ruin the experience.

Aang leans back on Appa's head, looking up at the sky, and occasionally glancing back at me with his youthful grin. I can't seem to stop smiling. Now matter how hard either of us tries, the clouds can't distract us.

Sokka soon falls asleep, which puts an end to his comments. I sit on the saddle, bundled up a bit more now that the sun can't warm me. Aang doesn't seem to notice the weather though. I turned around to look at him. "Hey," I say.

"Hey. What'cha thinking about?" he guessed from my puzzled look that I had been meaning to say something.

"I guess I was wondering - your being an airbender and all - if you had any idea what happened to the avatar." It had been bugging me this morning, but I only remembered now. I was so surprised to meet an airbender; it slipped my mind to ask.

"Uh," he stammers, sitting up a little from his relaxed position, "No, I didn't know him. I mean- I knew people that new him, but I didn't. Sorry." He smiles again, but doesn't seem up for talking about it.

"Ok," I shrug, "Just curious. Good night." I turn back and lay down in the saddle.

"Sleep tight," he replied. Appa's up-and-down bob on the waves rocks me gently to sleep.

I awake to the sound of my tribe putting out campfires and going to bed. I wake Sokka, and turn around to try and wake Aang. He had curled around his staff in his sleep, and was snoring gently. It looked too peaceful to disturb, so instead I lift him and bring him in to an empty tent. Luckily, my grandmother didn't see Sokka and I come in with a flying bison or she would have had a heart attack.

I went into my room and crawled onto my bed. I hadn't realized how much of a workout I had gotten today. My body wills me to sleep, but my mind is still whizzing around with everything that happened today. I decide to wait until tomorrow to think about them. My body wins; it was a long day.

My avatar dreams come back tonight. There's a new one among them. There's a flash of white light, and then a shadowy figure… but it passes so quickly. I can't remember it when I wake up the following morning.

* * *

Journey's End

Zuko

"Finally." Nearly three years of searching would finally be coming to an end today. My honor lurked a league or two in the distance. Just beyond that glacier, I told myself. That light; so beautiful. The power it must have taken to release it… I can't bear to think of it. Too much.

"Uncle, do you realize what this means?" I ask him excitedly.

"I won't get to finish my game?" he wonders. How is his game more important to him than our search for the avatar?

"It means my search is about to come to an end," I correct him. He breathes a dejected sigh. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!" Why isn't he as anxious as I am? How can he be so relaxed? Years of searching wasted, and finally I've found this cowardly old man.

He sighs again. "Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko." I resent his scolding tone, as if I was a child who was throwing a tantrum to get more sweets. "I don't want you to get too excited over nothing." Nothing? The avatar is nothing? "Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"

"I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the avatar!" I turn to the top of the ship, "Helmsman, head a course for the light!" I order.

My uncle grudgingly puts his game back in his quarters, and two sailors join us on deck. If I am going to capture the avatar, I'm going to need preparation. He's had 100 years to master the elements; I am only sixteen. He escaped from my great-grandfather at that age. He's eluded us ever since.

We start from the beginning. Uncle says that I must work on the most basic steps. It is crucial that I master them before advancing. I accept them. If they are as basic as I believe them to be, it should be easy for me to complete the drill and move on.

The sun rises and sets in odd locations at this strange section of the globe. I stay out on the crow's nest, eyes fixed on the path that my ship is taking: the path to my destiny, my honor. My uncle comes out onto the deck. I don't turn to acknowledge him.

"I'm going to bed now," he yawns to exaggerate his exhaustion. "Yep, a man needs his rest." His attempt at being passive fails. "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right, and the avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried, and failed."

"That's because their honor didn't hinge on the avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over." My eyes are welded in place, looking straight ahead of my boat. Nothing will stand in my way of capturing this man. I will redeem myself. I will regain my honor.


End file.
